Mamas Got a Brand New Bag

TANO bag large shopper style 2050

from DJournal
By ADAM ARMOUR
Staff Writer

Closet and drawers overflowing with purses and handbags? This weekend presents a quick, charitable solution to saving space on space savers.

The Mamas Got a Brand New Bag designer purse fundraiser auction will be held next weekend during the Gumtree Festival in Tupelo. Co-conceived by Dorsey resident Maggie Atwood and her friend Rhonda Herring, the auction will feature a number of designer purses up for grabs, and all proceeds will go to benefit the Northeast Mississippi branch of SAFE, an organization that aids victims of domestic abuse.

The auction will take place on May 10, from 1 p.m. until 3 p.m. at 211 Court Street in Tupelo. The format is that of a silent auction, where purses will be on display with bid sheets for each. Participants are encouraged to write down an offer early, then return toward the auction’s close to see if they’ve been outbid.

Donations of slightly used designer purses are currently being accepted by the Mama’s Got a Brand New Bag organization. Dropoff points are currently set up at building two of the Tupelo Furniture Market and BancorpSouth’s downtown Tupelo location. All donations are tax deductible, and tax deduction forms will be available.

According to Atwood, the event itself will be very upscale — an intimate fundraising event fitting the class and sophistication of the items being auctioned. “This is not going to be a ‘yard sale’ type event,” she explained. “It will fun and professionally done — first class.” She stressed that every dime made at the auction would be given to SAFE and used to help the victims of domestic violence in Northeast Mississippi, including Itawamba County. Atwood added that each purse contains information about SAFE inside it. “We need help,” Atwood said. “We’re asking everyone to search their closets and donate any gently used purses they may have, and then spread the word to all their friends. Before you know it, we can really make a difference.”

**All it takes**

Within 24 hours, Atwood and Herring really had something going. The phone was ringing off the hook with donors; a local advertising agency had agreed to sponsor all the event’s promotion free-of-charge and the purses began rolling in, without the benefit of such advertising.

It all started the day prior with a couple of full closets and one big idea. “We love purses, but we realized that we had an abundance of them that were in the top of the closet never getting used,” Atwood said of herself and Herring, stating that their original plan was to hold a friendly purse swap to freshen their collections. But the longer the two friends, who both try to stay active in their communities, thought about their purses, the more they realized that their abundant collections could be put to better use.

“SAFE is an often neglected organization,” Atwood said “The thought of a mother and child having to leave their home in the middle of the night in a battered situation really hits my heart.” According to Atwood, word of their project spread quickly. Within days, the organization had collected more than five-dozen purses for its cause without a bit of advertising — all of it through word-of-mouth. Atwood said that she and her friend were caught off-guard by the response. “It’s amazing that people care so much,” Atwood said. “It’s just hit us how overwhelming and how powerful this whole thing has been, and how seriously people are taking it. This isn’t something people doubted would happen.”

There’s a theme of togetherness casting its shadow across the event — the idea that it doesn’t take big people and big organization’s to create big ideas, which is something that Atwood enjoys stressing. “Part of what we want everybody to understand is all it takes is two people who are dedicated and passionate about something,” Atwood said of the fundraiser. “For us, it just took the decision we were going to do it, and we’ve been full-force ever since.”

Maintaining the small feel of the event is pertinent to the event itself, as it mirrors the importance of the cause in a more intimate way. “We’ve decided to keep [the fundraiser] small because this represents something very personal for us,” she stated. “We want to keep this very top-notch.” She added that, if the event is a success, the two friends will bring it back next year, possibly to benefit another organization.